


The Legend of MARVEL: Linked Earths

by BrePlay



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alcohol, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, Developing Friendships, Explosions, Family Bonding, Fear, Fluff, GUESS WHO'S WORTHY OF MJOLNIR?!, Gen, Humor, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insanity, Marvel Norse Lore, My OC Lola Tortures the Links for Kicks, No Cursing/Clean Language, Paranoia, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Psychological Torture, Pulp Fiction References, Religion, Religious Conflict, Romance, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Self-Worth Issues, Sky Hates Thor With a Passion, The Worst Case of Chronic Stupidity, Time (Linked Universe) is a Little Shit, Time Watches Too Many Samuel L. Jackson Movies, Wild (Linked Universe) is a Little Shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27710185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrePlay/pseuds/BrePlay
Summary: "Heroes are broken people who want change...just like you and me..."The Links face a greater danger, bigger and more threatening than Ganon.The Avengers face greater danger, bigger and more threatening than Thanos.Dark Link and his new associate, Dr. Sonia Bloomingwell, seek after the greatest powers ever received.Two unlikely teams join forces to stop the new forbidden plot of demise that threatens both of their worlds and stop Bloomingwell and Dark Link before they resurrect him, finding what it means to truly be worthy.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Thor, Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe), James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Thor & Guardians Of The Galaxy Team, Time & Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	1. Prologue: Dark Alliance

**Author's Note:**

> This book, after applying real-life situations to the mix, will contain different languages in specific typographical emphasis. When other characters speak to one another, it will be implied, through typographical emphasis, that there is a language barrier in later chapters, but it won't apply to characters who speak the same language or muttering to themselves. For example, when Dark Link was speaking to Dr. Bloomingwell, they spoke in Dark Link's language which was a language barrier. If Dark Link or Dr. Bloomingwell were to converse with someone who speaks the same language, there's no barrier. The rules of barriers go as followed in the respective typographical emphasis I assigned them:
> 
> Regular American English, Character Conversing in the Same Language, or Character Voicing Out Thoughts - No typographical emphasis
> 
> Japanese - italics
> 
> Russian - bold
> 
> Hylian English (any form of Hylian and this applies when a Link speaks in their own Hylian as well) - bold and italics

<https://youtu.be/oADqokozP6Q>

He hated this! He hated how his plans are backfiring simultaneously, blindly making portals to wherever and when he does finally get his chance, he somehow lets opportunity slip through his fingers! No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't complete what he set himself out to do.

To finally kill his other half...

Well...other "halves". Apparently, there were more than one! Oh, how sweet life is to him! More heroic morons to deal with! What does the dang goddess have against him anyway? Last time he checked, she didn't like Link all that much if she robbed him of his childhood and gave him trauma as an apology gift! He also wasn't created by her. What did he do to deserve this? He's not her problem! Whether the goddess likes him or not, with those idiots surrounding his target, his chances of gaining the Triforce were beyond low. Unfortunately, earlier this month...finding the Triforce in general proved to be rather difficult. Dark Link noticed that his own power was being disrupted for no reason, but he recently discovered that his army of monsters have been distracted by something, disappearing into thin air, or flinging all over the place like ragdolls which was no fun since he wanted to do that himself! Some of them were also being ambushed by (no, not his enemies because those cretins wouldn't know an ambush even if it's right in their faces) by an unknown species of beasts even more disgusting than the ones here. It was irritating, having something disrupt his power. Whatever the power or the distraction, it was interfering with his plan of gaining the power Ganondorf so richly desired. He was letting this slip away!

"You're...so...STUPID!" He punched the damaged wall of the aging Shadow Temple, a place he liked to call home...for now until he shifts as well or if he gains the Triforce. "You had so many chances, and you're letting slip through the dang cracks somehow! What is wrong with you!" He pulled at his white hair in frustration. An opportunity to obtain something he sought for for so long, and now, unwanted events are standing in his way. He sighed deeply. "It hasn't been that long...and, yet I'm not even close. What am I doing wrong?"

Using whatever magic he could salvage, he gazed through the eyes of his favorite monster, the Black Lizalfos, to understand the world outside. He always liked using the Black Lizalfos as a puppet, but he never understood why he chose that ugly lizard. Maybe, it was misunderstanding that he saw in it, a little of himself, the fact that it's black like him and his soul? Really, who cared? With his dark magic, he was able to control the Lizalfos and attack Link and his new friends in disguise, but this led to the consequences of not being able to use it a long time. He started using his powers not too long ago which began the Shifting, as they called it, however once the presence of a higher supernatural energy appeared, it wavered, sometimes leaving him breathless. It was almost as if he had to fight against whatever lingered in the air. At times, he would be rendered unconscious due to the amount of energy he was forced to utilize. He really hoped that today wasn't that day that he does black out. Because of the recent activity, he was blindly making Shifts and when he was close, the energy would spike a major headache and ringing in her ears, yet at this point, he didn't care. He could handle a measly headache and a ringing.

Through the Lizalfos's eyes, Dark Link couldn't technically describe the scene unfolding before him. He wouldn't say that it was necessarily evil because hello? He's evil, but he wouldn't call it beautiful. Maybe, a mixture of both? Perhaps, but if there was one way to describe this scene, it would be "disturbing". People of a Castle Town in the same yet slightly rendered kingdom of Hyrule, somewhere in its history, were shoved forcefully into place, with the hideously deformed monsters armed with glowing bows, if he could them that, and formed into a straight line aiming whatever their bows actually were, as a priest of some sort spoke in tongues which sounded more like nonsense than some sermon. He'd be half-lying if he said that he wasn't the least intrigued by it. Yet, this didn't feel right. He continued to watch the scene, listening to that priest was explaining what sounded like utter nonsense and fantasies. _Hm...what is this...?_

He felt his heart race for nothing when he felt nothing. Walking along with the false leader was a youthful dark haired woman, probably in her early twenties, in a long white cloak with pockets and sleeves. She wore black rectangular spectacles, her green eyes observing the people one by one as if studying them. Occasionally, she would tap on a monster's shoulder and point to a person in the crowd. It varied from a man, a woman, or a little boy or girl. Only a few were hand picked. "Hey...turn to that lady."

The Lizalfos turned its attention to the woman to help Dark Link observe her actions though he kept a close eye on the otherworldly (that's the word) creatures and the leader. The priest wasn't talking about the goddess so he knew that he was a different religion, whatever that religion may be. He want no part of it. His face was that of a porcelain doll, designed to have a smile on it, his words empty though they danced around in delight. Not to mention, he was another one of those hideous monstrosities with receding hair and no nose. How could he breathe? Through his mouth? That must be irritating, just having to breathe through your mouth when you have to speak simultaneously. Ugh, the air he had to breathe when people used their mouths instead of their noses. Humans have filthy mouths. They were filthy in general, judging people by appearances, spouting out fibs about their lives to hide themselves from the world, claiming that they were "chosen by the Goddess to fulfill a prophecy at birth". He was always thought he was so special, all because he was a chosen Hero. He committed stupid actions that Hylia excused without consequence, they all did! People like them...aren't worthy to be Heroes.

While he spoke his folktales, the woman clasped a black collar on the citizens she had chosen. When their mouths moved to form what appeared to be questions, all she did was smile. He felt chills run down his spine for the first time as the woman turned her attention from her chosen people to the priest...to the Lizalfos that was supposed to be hidden in the darkness. She stared blankly at him, staring deep into the lizard's eyes as if she can see right through it and into Dark Link's soul.

Everything else happened in a blink of an eye, but he remembered it so vividly. Immediately after the ugly clergyman had finished his song, the woman smiled a grin, spreading unnaturally across her cheeks like the corners of her mouth were slit until every tooth was shown and her eyes glowing a bright green. Then, a sudden burst of screams and cries rang throughout the city as well as dangerously bright flashing lights from the odd looking bows from the revolting beasts. The people who were given the black collars were surprised by a lethal shock of lightning when they attempted to leap into the shooting to stop it. He jumped as the woman appeared in the Lizalfos's face, cutting off his connection from the monster as the woman he saw in its vision actually charged at him with a dagger in her hand. Dark Link equipped himself with his sword beforehand, perfectly parrying her surprise attack. She slashed at him with that sadistic smile of hers from every direction. His red eyes followed her every move, blocking her attacks as she bounced off the walls like a hyperactive frog.

She managed to cut the front of his tunic when he attempted to dodge her, but she left herself wide open to allow his sword to pierce her middle. She pivoted around grabbing the sword by its blade with one hand and crushing the metal with ease before it reached her. She yanked the remains of the blade towards her and sliced her dagger across Dark Link's neck, twirling him around and puncturing his shoulder blade and twisting his arm. He tried to kick at her stomach, but she was quick to react and slid her heeled shoe under his boot, and still holding onto the arm that held his sword as once he fell, she gave a harsh pull, breaking it. She threw him over her shoulder, but he landed on his feet and roundhouse kicked. She ducked as if she predicted his moves and grabbed his ankle.

 _ **"How barbaric of you to attack a lady,"**_ she said, kindly. He couldn't recognize her accent; it sounded weird as if she weren't from here. No... _she isn't from here._ _**"Whoever created you must be utterly disappointed in you."**_

 _ **"Who the heck are you?"**_ No, that wasn't what his thought said.

She pushed his ankle away, causing him to fall over. _**"I must say, your magic is quite impressive."**_ She smiled and giggled softly. _**"I assume you have questions on what you saw, yes?"**_

 _ **"You still haven't answered my first question,"** _coughed Dark Link.

 _ **"I feel no need to answer that stupid inquiry right away,"**_ she replied, calmly. _**"However—"**_

Dark Link charged at her, the woman with her dagger ready as she sliced through the shadow with a precise cut across and through the torso like a piece of meat. Not really shocking, he dissolved.

 _ **"Wow...humans are dumb,"**_ chuckled Dark Link, clapping as he emerged from the darkness of the temple. _**"I have to say, you are very precise in your movements. It surprised me, but I saw that surprise attack coming a mile away. By the way you looked at me, it was obvious that you were actually here. I can assume that the event I saw was genuine, but you used mind games to bend reality somehow. Impressive, but not surprising."**_

 _ **"As I said before, your magic is impressive,"**_ she complimented. _**"I expected nothing less. Really, I knew it was an illusion. However, playing as its shadow was very intelligent to make me assume that it was the genuine opponent. You are quite intriguing."**_

 _ **"You have...good eyes,"**_ Dark Link said, glaring at her. _**"A human such as yourself shouldn't be able to easily see an illusion. I had to act as its shadow in order to make it appear real, so you wouldn't suspect something, but you played dumb well. Most would assume that the illusion is the figure itself, but they never take the time to see that one doesn't have a shadow or if the reflection is different, to see the mask, to spot the differences in one's lies. That is how trust is broken."**_

_**"The way you speak is so poetic—"** _

_**"I hate flattery."** _

_**"Yet, I can't help but agree with you, kind sir. I like the way you think, your wits are quite the charmer as well."** _

_**"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sexy and charming, now tell me what do you want!"**_ he barked. _**"As you saw, I'm kinda busy."**_

_**"Can't a woman compliment a demon—"** _

_**"I am not—"**_ He caught himself and regain his composure. _**"I'm no demon, just a shadow."**_ Oh, he hated that word...He was just a shadow, a shadow of someone "great", that punk. _**"Now, what do you want? Why are you here? If you don't answer now, I'll kill you."**_

 _ **"Wow, a shadow of bluntness. I like how you get to the point. Let us see,"**_ she said, tapping her chin innocently. _**"Ah, yes. Now, I remember. I hate sugar-coating, so I'll give it to you straight."**_ She gazed at him, square in the eye in hopes of frightening him, just a little, into submission. _**"Do you seek...power?"**_ The shadow paused. _**"An almighty source that guarantees submission from all who oppose you? To take revenge on the one that wronged you because of your looks, your actions? Especially...your reflection, the Hero?"**_

He pressed his lips into a thin line. _**"How do you—"**_

 _ **"I can see that in you, shadow,"**_ she said, motherly, making him snarl. _**"When I saw that black lizard creature, I saw you, controlling it, and you just looked absolutely miserable and frustrated, misunderstood. You seemed so angry with the mistakes that us humans made, when they wronged you because of your mere appearance, to judge you for nothing. The fire burns like the sun in your eyes against the Hero attacked you for nothing, assuming that you were evil. Like you, I was wronged by people; they saw me as deranged and delusional, all because I wanted to show them something."**_

His shoulders tensed, a sword appearing in his hand for safety measures. _**"What would that be?"**_

 _ **"Imagine a world where only perfection lives,"**_ said the woman, her green eyes glistened in wonder. _**"Imagine where everyone is happy, living in a world where the broken are permanently fixed. No one will suffer, everyone can live peacefully and happily."**_

 _ **"Sounds like everybody's paradise. I highly doubt that a heaven exists here since...you know, the Goddesses are punks, but if...say, that somebody is beyond 'repair', what will happen to them?"**_ He was a little weird for asking by the way this woman sounded; she did sound delusional...and completely mad.

 _ **"Well...the broken must perish!"**_ she cheered.

He raised a brow. Yep, she was delusional...but, he liked that, somebody who was a tad insane with a calming tone that can oddly lull anyone to sleep, someone like him. A perfect world: he never thought about that before, but was that even achievable? She was so stupid. She obviously knew little to nothing about her own kind which was the saddest thing he had ever encountered. How did he, a mere shadow, understand that better than an actual human? Goddess, that was humiliating! _**"So...What I'm hearing is you kill to make perfection a reality."**_

The woman chuckled, lazily. _**"Becoming immaculate is not an easy task, shadow. I have attempted many experiments, the hours I spent on conditioning armies of lab rats every day, I had to kidnap multiple dirty children, murder thousands—"**_

_**"Not surprised. I see a little blood on that cloak thing, and you seem heartless enough."** _

_**"Only because becoming immaculate is not as difficult as they say. I'm perfect."** _

_**"News flash, hag, no human is perfect!"**_ Dark Link snickered. _**"The perfect human doesn't and never exists. At birth, humans were designed to fail and fall, and then they die with regrets. Even if you tried, there's no way to fully achieve it."**_

 _ **"But isn't that why I'm here?"**_ When he turned his full attention at her, she wore that ugly, inhuman smile that could definitely kill a man from one glance, but he caught a glimpse of skepticism and patience behind whatever that was. _**"You and I are the same, right? We were wronged by people because of our 'ridiculous' ideas or our appearances, mistakes or menaces to society, they would say though they have never tried to understand us—"**_

 _ **"You actually want the Triforce, don't you?"**_ Dark Link learned to read minds during the shifts, which was the worst ability he had ever gained. He read the dirty minds of men and women alike, the messy, loud, greedy thoughts of children, the complaints of relatives, the malicious plots of merchants and tax collectors...it was all disgusting, the lot of them. Now, she was the same, but her expression knew of his silent action. Either way, he continued, _**"You want the Triforce because of its power, a legend that you heard from someone here of it granting wishes to whoever holds all three pieces, correct? That's why you were speaking in tongues, to hide your true intentions of meeting me."**_

Her lips curved upwards, softly, at him as she pulled away to stand up straight. _**"What a smart shadow you are. Alas, someone has taken my master away from me, and another annihilated a magnificent power to sealed him away. He was a good leader, highly believe you would adore him as much as I do—"**_

_**"I don't adore things."** _

_**"You controlling the black lizard says otherwise,"**_ she rebutted. _**"When I first met him, I never understood his actions or his reasons for causing devastation. As you saw my true motive, surely enough, you would also know that he had a hiddem motive, too. I just do not know what it is, but...after I spent time in his congregation, not knowing how much time has passed, I learned that my goals can be achieved through him. He allowed me to conduct my experiments, make colonies. I have camps set in different planets, and my life's work...it was almost completed! Then...that stupid god of mischief gave us away in the first alien attack of a city known as New York City in my world...Then, that filthy robot appeared, the organization in which I worked for fell on its knees, I was arrested and a few of my facilities were discovered, that green monster survived, those heroes sealed my master away five years later, I LOST MY PERFECT SOLDIER, AND THE STUPID LITTLE GIRL DESTROYED MY CHANCE TO RETRIEVE HIM!"**_

Dark Link didn't flinch. He wanted to laugh, if he were being honest although his expression said otherwise. When she spoke, her tone gradually became mad and irritated, her eyes wild with rage. Her long dark hair was disheveled and stood out in different angles and directions. She was so deranged, it was humorous. He liked her; she was funny, sad, and pathetic. She was wasted space just like the rest of them. Now...god of mischief? Who could that be? He never heard of a god of mischief in Hylian mythology, and other heroes? He thought that band of misfits was the only Heroes he had to deal with. Now, this lady is mentioning more? Just how many heroes are there! Then, the soldier...She had a perfect soldier? Did she really achieve the impossible? At first, he just allowed her to speak because she was likely to be like the other residents of the kingdom who were facing severe hallucinations and delusions, claiming to have seen abnormalities, but now upon hearing that she truly had a perfect soldier made him a little interested in what she had to vent out.

Once she settled down, she gave him her doll-like smile and motherly composure. _**"I discovered a rip within time and space with my associates, and we found this kingdom. So far, we have completed very little of our savior's desires, the shooting you saw which we call a 'departure'. During our time here, a drunkard was babbling on about something called the Triforce, a supernatural power that had the ability to grant wishes when all pieces are brought together."**_

 _ **"And you found me..."**_ Dark Link murmured skeptically.

_**"Yes, the lizard, under a daze of some sorts, led me here when I asked—"** _

_**"Where is it?"** _

_**"Do not worry, I don't sully my hands with monsters or the broken,"**_ she said, shivering and giggling. _**"Your pet is fine."**_

_**"Alright then, so...You want the Triforce to get your mentor back, right?"** _

_**"Well...that seems a little...impossible,"**_ she said, still a little upset. _**"You see, my master was sealed away by the same power that was destroyed by that...irritating brat..."**_

 _ **"So, that means without that power present, you can't get him back,"**_ Dark Link summarized, briefly.

_**"Yes, and because you have a connection with one who possesses part of the Triforce, it shouldn't be hard to track it."** _

_**"But unfortunately, my powers aren't working as well as I want them to..."**_ he growled. When he looked at the woman, she had another one of those false faces that annoyed him so much, but this one was...of bargain, negotiation.

 _ **"Then, allow me to negotiate with you,"**_ she said, pacing slowly with girly and childish strides. _**"What do you want out of the Triforce? Why do you want it?"**_

Is that really a question? _**"Do I really need to tell you? We barely met. I don't even know your name, and I hate working with people in general."**_

 _ **"True...Well, what if I told you I can help you gain more power to find the Triforce?"**_ she asked, happily.

His ears perked up. _**"More power?"**_

 _ **"I can help you obtain a good amount of power to replenish the amount you have lost, and not only that, but you will grow stronger physically and mentally,"**_ she added.

Dark Link smirked. _**"I'm listening~"**_

_**"All it requires is a single drop of a power I discovered years ago, but I must obtain it and edit its formula so that your body may handle it, though you're not really risking much. With that, you will able to find the Triforce, correct?"** _

_**"How much of it would a single drop contain?"** _

Her smile grew wider and wider. _**"The strength of over the strongest men on Earth combined, matching unknown powers but far below godly, unfortunately."**_

_**"And...if I agree to help you find the Triforce, what's in it for me?"** _

Her lips curved down then up slightly as she lifted her head up with deranged eyes. _**"I can guarantee that you'll be eligible to kill your other half with ease...and, whatever you desire shall be yours. You will have the Triforce all to yourself after, and no one will stop you. So, what do you say?"**_

Dark Link was enjoying this: the chance to kill the Hero. With that new power she was going on about, he will be able to kill the princess or princesses, now that he knew there were more of them, hopping through space and time as the Lizalfos. He can take the throne...kill the Heroes...He could end the bloodline! He will be able to end the bloodline of the Hero's Spirit and the reincarnated Goddess with the power of the Triforce and the other thing! But, did he believe a word this woman said? Heck no! He just met her! He really hated working with people in general because of their stupidity and overachiever attitude, such teacher's pets. He'd have to be cautious of her because after her little fit, she was insane, appearing as if she'll rip his head from his neck or kill a whole town within minutes judging from her agility and precision as well as her ability to predict her opponent's moves. It was best not to challenge her if she was "perfect". He really didn't want to work with her because she really seemed to have the power to kill. He half understood that she wasn't lying about murdering people to achieve her goals of an actual perfect society, kidnapping children to start the conditioning early in life, and she sounded like she had an awfully strong vendetta against what he could assume was her perfect soldier betraying her and another who was, no doubt, the man who sealed her master away and the soldier destroying his seal for good. To him, he had two options:

1.) Work with this lady and grab the power he desired as she promised.

2.) Kill this self-proclaimed "perfect woman", and get on with his life.

Seeing that killing her was nigh impossible, he had to go with option one. Yet, he had...other plans for her. He didn't know this lady, but from what they had discussed, her doing most of the talking since women don't shut the eff up, he could tell that she is easily persuaded by anything. Her master being her savior? It was probably some other senile, hedge-born lowlife who claimed to be a prophet to gain attention. Oh, it happened before! More than once in this Goddess forsaken land! She was so into the idea of absolute perfection that it was sickening. That moron must've told her, and she was convinced quickly. However, she also appeared distressed when she talked about her perfect soldier betraying her to destroy the seal, yet he didn't buy her "scary looks".

Actually, now that he thought about it, they were all bark and no bite. Even her motherly tone wasn't enough to frighten him. Say one word to call her out, her frightening demeanor is shattered instantly. Believe him, facing the bloodied, white, dead monster, Dead Hand, was more frightening than this girl's acting, however she was very good at it. Half of the things she vaguely explained were more than likely fibs or stolen credit. She was faking the whole thing. This all started when she started screaming her frustrations...and, at her desperate time of need, she calls upon a shadow she sees as an ally. This was pathetic. She was true to her word about giving him the power he needed to sense the Triforce once again, that much he saw. The rest? A way to manipulate her, but she was intelligent, so he knew to be careful. She was powerful but more than likely, it was illusion magic, speaking of which, or since she looked to possess no supernatural ability, this is probably a double. If she really had the power to kill, she would've ripped every fiber of his being. Now...he saw her true image...and, he was happy to oblige.

He held out his hand, his smirk wide to hide his plotting. _**"Call me Dark Link."**_

The woman smiled sweetly, almost as if she were about to cry, taking his hand. _**"I am Dr. Sonia Bloomingwell. It is great to have you aboard, Dark Link."**_

And so...

_The fun begins._


	2. Hero-napped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING OF CLARIFICATION:
> 
> As mentioned in the previous chapter, the primary languages will be represented in typographical emphasis but when there is no typographical emphasis, it means that the dialogue is in the listener's perspective when conversing in another language, not in the perspective of all characters present in the conversation.

Twilight practically had to drag Time by the neckline of his armor just to make the old fart move! The Links, the heroes chosen by the Goddesses, were currently in the forest that resided in the land of the traveler's Hyrule. Hyrule explained that maybe, if they kept walking with no stops, they would reach a small town by sundown, but with the way Time skidded across the dirt, that failed to get them anywhere, just barely two inches of road they trekked in the last hour. Twilight may have been the strongest and burliest of the Links, but carrying a man in his mid or late thirties, packed in armor was nothing like carrying stacks of hay or goats. Twilight's only thought was, _"How in the Great Sea of Wind's Hyrule is this man heavier than a dang village goat!"_

It wasn't the first time that they experienced a quick shift like this one. The last one was when they shifted from Four's Hyrule, to Skyloft, and after a second of falling from the sky, they ended up in the barn of LonLon Ranch. Twilight's protégé, Wild, smelled like maneuver for a week, mainly because he "liked the stench of manliness", and the poor wild child was chucked into the bathtub by Time and Legend.

The group of knights were a bit squeamish with all of the unpredictable quick jumps into places. It didn't help that they had just started to get used to the black portals created by their little friend, the Black Lizalfos. They didn't understand the meaning of all this but took caution since this was, by far, the strangest issue they've encountered besides a demon with a long tongue, ghosts with powers, and a walking humanoid fish with a face lift. Now, Time, the wise old man that they _all_ looked up to as a leader, was being dragged by his descendant, looking like he was throwing a tantrum.

"Time?" spoke out Warrior to break the increasingly uncomfortable and awkward silence. "Hate to, uh, hurt your pride...or whatever pride you have left, but you look like a half-dead horse waiting to be put out of its misery."

"I've been waiting for that for years, now..." Time grumbled, making Legend roar in laughter. However, no one else laughed to which he howled louder.

"Well, hate to break it to ya, but you're gonna hafta wait a while longer," Twilight said awkwardly, struggling to move his own feet. In frustration, he dropped him. "Time, you're bein' ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous," replied Time. "I'm standing by my word as should the rest of you."

"We left Twilight's Hyrule for a second, and you think this is the solution?" questioned Four.

"Whatever is causing these unusual teleportations across time knows we're letting our guard down by aimlessly wandering Hyrule without knowing what we're up against and fooling around, so if we don't move, as I keep trying to tell you morons, we won't shift. Its power is based on fear."

"That only works on cuccos..." Hyrule muttered.

"And if it works on cuccos, it works on unknown entities messing with teleportation! Logic!"

"You think your wife threw you out the window so many times, your logic died along with your dignity," Legend said, eyeing him, "or whatever's left of it."

"I'll pretend like I've never heard that so I don't carry out my plans on burying you all alive, except Wind," Time said.

"Why him?" Sky asked, and regretted it immediately.

"Because he's not a hell-spawn unlike the rest of you little demons." The knight from the sky rolled his eyes.

"Glad to know you have a favorite, you old fool," said Warrior. "Get up! We're going nowhere if Farmer Boy can't drag your stubborn butt. Seriously, he should be easy to carry."

"I would love to see you try and carry an old man strapped with three hundred pounds of armor," Twilight snarled. "Hyrule, do you think we're near the town?"

"We seem to be halfway, but if Time would get up, we'd be there before nightfall," explained Hyrule.

"Something tells me we won't make it then," Wind said, "but, you guys don't find it strange?"

"That Time still thinks he has some dignity left?" Legend snickered.

"Sleep with one eye open tonight."

"You already do that when you are awake."

"I'm burying you alive first..."

"No, the sudden shifts," Wind said. "Do you guys feel like they're not planned?" This caught everyone's attention, his older companions now lost in thought for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Wild was the first to voice his inquiry. "Not planned?"

"Yes, I mean, think about it," Wind continued. "These shifts are unpredictable, but they seem messy while the shadow portals are, then the sudden attacks are too—" The young sailor then stopped for a moment to think. "Actually...wait! I know something just feels off about this. The shifts are messier than the portals? Or are they the same? But what about the attacks? They just...Goddess, I can't expla—"

"It's alright, sailor," Four interjected, placing a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "We'll worry about it when we get into town. 'Rule, does the town have an inn?" Wind looked down at the dirt beneath his feet.

"From what I remember, yes," Hyrule said.

"Then, it's settled," Sky said. "We'll take refuge in the inn for the night and figure out this unusual shifting tomorrow morning."

"Hey! You don't call the shots, I do!" Time shouted.

"I've deprived you of your rights to calling shots after your dignity divorced you," Warrior said. "Surprised your wife didn't." Time's shock overwhelmed his thoughts to say a threat.

As he continued to drag his degraded ancestor along the road, who he'd now shun until tomorrow, Twilight couldn't help but think about Wind's statement though he stumbled over his words. He caught a glimpse at Wild and found that he was thinking over it as well.

Wild, grabbing Wind by the shoulder, slowed his pace to match Twilight's, and the two assisted him to drag the old man by his arm. "You thinking about it, too?"

"Well, I never thought about it before," Twilight whispered. "It seems to make sense, however."

"I knew something was off," said Wind. "The pattern of the shifts are out of wack."

"We'd in one Hyrule for a week, another for a year or two, one in a minute," Wild listed. "The pattern for it is like whoever is pulling the strings doesn't know what they're doing."

"That could be the case," said Time. Twilight moved his hands to help the sailor pulled on the arm. "Whoever is controlling it probably has no control over their own power as if they recently received which wouldn't surprise me."

"It wouldn't?" Wind asked.

"Not at all. This thing appears to be making desperate attempts on controlling things that they have no permission and failing horribly. So, if they have no handle, then they are too weak to have a power than their previous one."

"So, the entity or person or whatever doesn't understand their power because of experience," Twilight scoffed. "Figures. You'd think they'd be better at this because people desire power and once they gain that knowledge the more natural it should be to use it without an issue, but what I don't understand is that dang Sheikah Slate and its own control at the moment."

"Right, is that thing still—"

"I tried trading it, I tried selling it, I tried yelling at it, I tried to mailing it to a Bokoblin, rolling over it, burning it, smashing it with a club, throwing it against a tree, dropping it in a ravine, and the dang thing still doesn't work," Wild said.

"It might be because you dropped it in a ravine," Wind argued, irritated.

"Believe me, it's been through worse," he whispered. "Even so, it's still not functioning properly. When I tried using the bomb rune the other day, daisies pop out instead..." They stared at him. "I think it's broken."

"Yeah, no crap!" Time and Wind yelled.

"No, I don't think it's broken...it may have somethin' to do with this shift," Twilight wondered. "Maybe, the shifts are messing with its...system? I don't honestly know...?" He usually didn't listen to Wild when he explained the functions of his Sheikah Slate.

" _Or_...he landed on it so many times that it said, 'I'm tired of this abuse', and just broke," Wind said.

"That's another _accurate_ —" Time looked up at Twilight for emphasis. "—way of seeing it."

"Oh, shush, you," Twilight grumbled. The three continued their struggle with the other Heroes blazing the trail in the front. Twilight thought over the small conversation, what Time said. This has the possibility being a random person's doing, but they had no clue how their powers work but the disfunction in Wild's Sheikah Slate suddenly occurring? Yes, the kid is destructive beyond any villain they faced, but come on, he wasn't _that_ irresponsible! Sure, he left Hyrule somewhere in the forest, nearly drowned them from a poorly made raft, and set everything in his line of vision on fire as he normally did, but he wasn't _that_ irresponsible. That unusual tablet was still working through those times which was miraculous, but to have it (what was that dumb word Purah and Robbie used) malfunction the way it did?

He looked over to Wind. He noticed that his expression contrasted with his usual bright-eyed wonder. His frown hung deeply with his big, sapphire eyes turned away from Time's golden hair, focusing elsewhere. When he turned to Wild, Wild continued his struggle to pull the eldest, his scarred face scrunched in struggle. Though he wasn't worried much about the tablet, he knew Wind felt small, which attracted his concern. On nights where the dark green and white, blue-eyed wolf appeared, he would explain his personal issues to him as he ran his fingers through his soft fur, resting his head on his back.

He hated being the youngest because none of his companions took him seriously albeit he has shown his skill and capabilities in battle numerous times. He could tell that no one took his theory into consideration, being that they too were clueless of the shifts. For once, Wind wanted to be recognized as an intelligent knight and not some baby that needed attention. For once, he felt that he brought on a good point about the situation, yet he couldn't explain the shadow portals and stumbled over his words to make sense of them.

However, Twilight could sense the others' slight distress. Of course this wasn't normal; this can scare anybody to death. They finally reached the dang inn after nightfall, Time not caring that the backside of his armor and tunic were dirty from being dragged against his will.

The hardest part was getting him inside where he grabbed onto the banister on the steps outside with a death grip, paranoid that they'll shift in their sleep when in reality, the only shifting they'll do is the dance of falling out of bed. He was kicking and screaming like a spoiled brat which was so new to the boys, making them question if this man is really the stern, scary old man with a death glare that killed a Moblin they knew. After nearly ripping the old man's arms off from yanking him and destroying property to which Warriors kindly volunteered to pay without his own knowledge of doing so, they slept in the inn for the night. Time stayed up however. He couldn't sleep at all.

The peculiar, quick teleportations attacked him too fiercely. They were very unpredictable, and he stood by his point of an amateur not controlling his powers. He stood by his solution of not moving only due to the fact that one of them was almost lost. When that occurred, he thought he lost him though he'd never admit it. He wasn't too fond of the thought of these boys learning about his past or his trauma or his current feelings, and quite frankly, there will never be a time that he would tell them. Did he feel ridiculous about his resolve?

No, absolutely not, he still had his dignity intact. He took pride in his solution, and he felt that it was just! No, he wasn't embarrassed by the fact that he was dragged against his will by eight young men that looked like him while everybody in the tavern stared at him as his nails scratched the wood like a feculent cat about to be thrown into the bathtub. Why would he be? He was right! At least, so far nothing out of the ordinary had occurred when they came, not like he had a choice to relax anyway.

He rubbed his hand down his face, keeping himself awake with bitter force. His only wish at this point is to have anyone still moving up and about. He heard soft knocking on his room door. He was sharing a room with Sky who was the heaviest sleeper of them all. Time sat up in his bed with a soft gaze, understanding that was one of the boys and they also had no chance to sleep. He knew that he was here to comfort him or try to say the least. "Come in, Twilight."

The door opened slightly, an odd, distorted sound with black particles flashing into his view for a moment, and entered a large dark green wolf with gentle blue eyes silently creeping to not wake Sky, though it's more of a challenge than you'd think. Time smiled softly. "You can't resist comforting someone in that form, huh, Wolfie?" A little tease never hurt anybody, especially Twilight since for a while, that was his persona's name. It didn't seem like they were going to change it anytime soon, but he didn't mind.

The wolf hopped on the bed, curling up next to him, resting his head in his lap, pressing it against his stomach as he huffed in response. The other Links, although not knowing that Twilight was Wolfie, were able to feel comfort and reassurance when cuddling with a wolf that they knew wouldn't hurt them. He was nothing short of a big puppy, playful, kind, and loyal. They were able to tell him of their personal drawbacks and trauma, but he, like his own secret, kept theirs high in the shelves away from each other until they are able to tell one another one day. For now, he just wanted to help them without causing distress in his regular form, not as if Twilight wasn't easy to talk to, but it was just...a little more difficult.

Time was familiar of his secret but felt at ease when conversing with either Wolfie or Twilight. He felt better when he lightly scratched his ears or pet his fur, subconsciously doing so. "I'm fine, there's no need to worry about me."

Wolfie just glared at him with the old "I'm not buyin' that horsecrap" look, and Time chuckled. "Really, I'm fine." The wolf butted his head against his chest. Time looked exhausted, his single eye fighting to stay awake with dark bags under both, his skin a little paler than usual.

To be honest, he felt exhausted, emotionally drained if that is how he'd describe his mood. He tried to keep them all safe, throwing himself in danger for them so they may live if it meant that one must go, watching over them, nurturing them with care and threats. He hated being dubbed as "old man" because he wasn't that _freaking old_ , but it was better than "Dad" to which a couple of them tease him about when he "acts like one". Since when he did act like a dad? Anyway, he wanted to reassure himself that these boys were at least okay or something. He understood that they also had people to return to. With the quick shifting, it made his anxiety rise up. Anything could happen; they could drop in some ditch, die in a volcano, drown in the ocean, get impaled by pointed rocks somewhere, roll down a mountain—

Wolfie bumped his head against his chest again after hearing his heart beating so loudly, his breathing quickening. He nuzzled his nose against his cheek as a sign of comfort and gazed at him with big, puppy dog eyes. All he did was chuckle. "Okay...fine...I'm a little...I'm just a little on edge."

The wolf's gaze didn't falter. It was like he was staring into his soul with the biggest eyes ever. It was too cute, urging him to tell him more. Dang this stupid wolf form! He couldn't resist cute animals! Curse his easy life on the farm and his newfound weakness for freaking animals!

Could he really tell him, though?

He should, should he?

Or maybe not?

_No...let's not..._

Time sighed, standing his ground. "Twilight, I'm just a little on edge, emphasis on 'a little'. There's nothing to worry about, I'll be fine. I just need to sleep it off."

 _That's not your actions earlier said_ , he could hear him say.

"I wasn't acting like a child...I was just abiding by my word because you know I'm right," he said, crossing his arms. "You just would not admit it because you didn't want lose your pride as a man."

 _Does this man not realize he looked like a feral dog trying to escape his cage? Wow, his nonexistent sense of dignity is strong._ Wolfie shook his head, butting heads with Time once again, this time harder.

"Ah! Stop that!" Time rubbed his forehead. "Hylia, Twilight...Will you calm down? I'm alright!" Wolfie winced at the sound. Sighing, the Hero of Time fell back into the mattress, nearly sinking into the pillow. "Sorry, but I just don't need people to waste their time concerning for my well-being. I can handle my personal complications. I don't need to involve you into it." He rolled to his side, letting the pillow work its comforting magic.

If he thought Wolfie would leave it at that, he thought wrong! To him, Time was someone who had one too many traumatic experiences it appeared. He wasn't trying to force him to talk about himself and his adventures, no; he needed to understand how he was feeling, if he was afraid of something that was eating away at him.

His actions today revealed that albeit he tried to mask it. He sensed it all in one stupid solution that crushed his reputation without him realizing it which was just sad on itself. He respected him nonetheless. He sounded troubled with himself, he thought. There was something that screamed of his trauma (not the actual event that cause his trauma) through his stubbornness, and...even if he kept quiet of his past travels and his childhood (they would ask and he vaguely explained it which was absolutely irksome, at least to Sky due to his views on the Goddesses and the Master Sword), he wanted to at least give him something to assuage him so he wouldn't feel so alone...so heartbroken.

The wolf crawled over Time, lifting his arm with his snout to tuck himself under it and gave him a wet nosed kiss on his cheek for a little love. The old man petted his muzzle and lightly scratching his ears. "Thank you, Twilight..." He huffed in response, careful not to wake Sky. Time pulled the canine closer to him with a tighter hold, burying his face into his fur. Wolfie eased his head into the pillow, his ears flickering a bit to the sound of his father figure's even breathing.

"Twilight..." whispered Time. "I'm sorry for worrying you...and acting the way I did earlier...I'm just...scared as of now. This quick shifting is dangerous on itself, with a madman having no grasp of their power. It..." He hugged Wolfie tighter. "I...It's the...Oh, Hylia, I can't even get the words out...I guess I'm just that nervous, huh?"

Wolfie affectionately rubbed his nose against his face once more as Time chuckled and rubbed the top of his muzzle. "An old fool can be a little concerned sometimes, right?" He chuckled again but in a lower pitch, tired, distressed maybe. It puzzled him, yet he had his fair share of anxiety, knowing that same chuckle all too well when he lied to himself that everything was under control. He wasn't going to force him to talk about his past or his emotions at the moment if he was bound to keeping the others from using their precious time with their concerns on him. As long as he was able to comfort the man silently, that was enough to reassure him that everything was truthfully alright.

"I don't want any of you getting hurt..." Time yawned, sleepily. "These quick shifts aren't anything like what we've seen before. They have the potential to kill us." He paused and sighed. "Some part of me feels that...we won't be able to return home safely if we don't stop whoever is causing this. If this continues, we could end up in an unknown place, die a horrible death...Good Goddess, we could be facing a villain even worse than Ganondorf, haha..." Wolfie laid, quietly. "Frankly, it's just my imagination running wild as usual. I'll be fine, though. Thanks for...for even listening, although my thoughts were vaguely explained."

Wolfie gave him one last wet nosed kiss, Time ruffling his fur. "Good night, Pup." Then, he allowed the calming blackness surround him, hearing Wolfie's steady breathing. Finally...he could rest.

~☆~

Sleep was a lie! Committing crimes against sleep for the body was amazing when one ran on pure adrenaline while fighting against the Infected near the beginning of dawn. Oh, it was so lovely hearing the chorus of manly battle cries, monster shrieks, mass destruction and the screaming of citizens either running for their lives or being mauled in the very early morning. Fun...

They barely got into their rest, and immediately, a shriek of terror rang throughout the village, the scream of a small child, that woke the nine heroes up. With that, they were wide awake and ready for a brawl to break out, taking their swords and shields only. It was too late to strap on their armor and rather riskier, not only on their lives but to everyone in the village.

Of course, they lost track of time as they fought and felt their bodies growing heavy from weariness while the dark night glowed a magnificent orange and gold.

Legend brought down his sword to the head of a weakened Moblin with a weary grunt. He nearly fell over, breathing heavily. "Is...Is that...all...of them?"

Wild shot one more arrow at the remaining monster in his line of vision. "I think...so..."

"Where did that horde come from?" Wind asked, sheathing the Phantom Sword securely on his back.

"I don't know..." Sky said, sheathing a practice sword. "These were acting...oddly feral, almost bloodthirsty."

"All the monsters are bloodthirsty! What's new!" Legend and Wild shouted, but Legend winced from the pain in his throat.

"They are hungry for a good meal, but they're acting like wild animals, as in they're not thinking," said Warrior.

"Usually, they don't," Hyrule said.

"That's not what I..." He heard stomping. Warrior counted heads.

There were only eight.

_Where's Fo—_

Warrior swiftly unsheathed his sword to spoil a surprise waiting from behind him. The ugly demon shrieked a paralyzing screech, almost similar to that of a Redead. It froze Warrior, however.

The beast, whatever it was, appeared to be a mix of tar and machine, but it had no parts resembling the Guardians in Wild's Hyrule, and towered over around everyone around it, its ram like horns framed its terrifyingly ugly and eye-less visage, and six, dark sludge covered hands were spread out to reveal themselves. Its mouth, with long, jagged teeth, appeared to be wide enough to swallow a human's head whole.

Without hesitation, Sky and Hyrule lunged at the behemoth, swords in hand. The disgusting beast grabbed both of their faces, howling, and smashed their heads into the ground. It raced to Wind, making Warrior and Time jump on its back and stab it while Wind decided to take a stand and shoot it with his own arrows at its face. Wild and Legend ran off to retrieve Four if he was still alive.

One of the sailor's arrows was swallowed by the ugly thing, making it howl in sudden pain from the sharpness of the arrow as it tried to rip the eldest and the captain off its back. Taking the opportunity, Wind slashed at its leg while Sky snapped out of his daze to cut the arms, only to discover that the arms and legs were as tough as steel.

"Aim for the head!" Time, with no hesitation, raised his sword and swung it at its neck.

It grabbed the blade and toss the old man to the side, shrieking its battle cry.

Meanwhile, Four was being dragged by another one of those unearthly monsters, his thoughts running wild.

_WE'RE GONNA DIE!_

_No, we're not! Obviously, it has a weak spot! However, we must remain calm. Like Time said with the entities, this thing will sense our fear._

_Are you seriously listening to a man who was dragged into an inn like a feral cat about to be bathe against its will?_

_Yes, I am! You got a problem with that!_

_Green is right. We must locate its weak spot._

_How, genius! We're about to be eaten alive!_

As much as he hated it, he agreed with the Blue welling in his chest. How in the Goddess given land of freaking Hyrule was he going to find a weak spot while being dragged by a fiend more terrifying than any other beast that he had faced! The creature had its teeth sunk into his arm deeply to where he could feel them against his bone. He shivered at the thought and that feeling...The creature kept its jaws locked, every gallop jerking him upward and yanking him down, tearing through more of his skin and flesh. He bit his lip to swallow his screams, but the pain was unbearable. The teeth of the beast scraped over his bone roughly to where he feared it would snap his arm like a twig. He was going to die.

He tried to stop it by stabbing it with his sword, but he was at a handicap since he was left-handed. He held the sword too awkwardly, causing him to hold it like he would a knife.

Not long after, he heard a strange whirring sound heading towards him. Looking up, he found Wild riding the strange vehicle he dubbed the Master Cycle Zero, an odd, bronze and gold machine crafted into a horse with a soft yet fierce blue glow in its eyes, and Legend in the back of the seat. His forehead hit the ground from the rough tug of the behemoth, making it bleed from the hard collision. "Hang on, Four!"

"The monster's already doing that!" Four shouted.

"Right, right..."

"It looks like it has a death grip on him," Legend noticed as he stood up on the Master Cycle Zero, grabbing onto Wild's shoulder. "Does it have a weak spot?"

"You'd think Wind would say something from that pirate charm by now." The long-haired hero, with one hand on the handle device of the strange wheeler, unlocked his Sheikah Slate, pressing the bomb rune and...out appeared daisies. The veteran took charge to use his magic arrows to strike down the behemoth. One landed in the middle of its face. _Head shot!_

Yet, the thing didn't release the small hero!

In fact, it tightened its grip, Four screaming in agony as he punched the monster's face.

"Legend, take the front!" Legend crawled hastily to the front on the Cycle, holding on the handle with little knowledge how to work it. "What are you going to do!" shouted Legend over the roar of the machine.

Wild pulled the string of his bow, equipped with a bomb arrow. "What does it look like? What I do best!" He released it as the arrow flew to the hideous creature's leg, blowing it off but releasing Four from its tight grip and shredding his skin. It screeched.

"Shut up, you punk!" Legend blasted a beam of icy blue light at the monster, trapping its slimy looking body in a prison of ice. Wild swerved out of the way from the thing and crashed when he dodged Four laying on the ground. The two were sent flying. The fall didn't hurt much, but it was enough to make them a little sore. "Four, are you al—"

The heroes gasped at the sight of Four's arm, causing their stomachs to churn. Tassels of the torn sleeve on his left arm soaked the blood seeping, the skin ripped apart in huge gashes to expose the delicious human meat and showing the stained bone in his forearm split apart...more like it shattered considering that the smallest hero was picking bits and pieces of it. "That stupid monster destroyed it...It'll heal with a fairy."

"I don't know about that." Wild gingerly took his arm to examine it, attempting to keep his midnight snack down. "Goddess, Smith...this is bad..."

"Not as bad as this punk's fate," Legend mumbled. He walked up to the creature, ice rod in hand, ready to swing. He was already done with this. He wanted to sleep! Plus, his friends were fighting another one of these...whatever the heck they were! If it meant a swing to send this thing back to Hell and get some freaking sleep, he will gladly take the risk.

"Uh, Legend—"

"Hey, stay away from that thing!" Four yelled.

"No way, this beast is dead!" He inched closer to it. "I'm sending this thing back to Hell!" The veteran jumped back at the sudden shriek unleashed by the apprehended beast, his hands trembling, frozen by the awful sound. He couldn't believe his eyes.

The beast, through its barbaric screech, broke the ice prison with no effort at all! Its body was completely free, nothing left on its body, no ice, no piece of skin was forgotten, every limb still intact! The worst part of it all...

The ice that Legend produced was too thick to break through.

He thought that the layer of ice was enough. Did he think too far back? Was this beast smart enough to know how much ice there was to break through?

Or was it purely moronic but possessed brute strength alone?

Did he want to found out? "Run?"

"Oh no, we're getting the freak out of here!" Legend scrambled to Four to let him climb on his back to carry him and raced to the Master Cycle Zero with the behemoth bolting towards them.

The fight continued in the town, people still screaming in fright and hiding as the other five heroes retaliated against their beast...and, they were nearly failing. A monster shouldn't be this strong. Either way, it was thirsty for their blood, that they knew all too well.

Twilight made an attack using the spiked ball that he obtained during his adventure to at least bring the demon down! Of course, that sparked attention onto him. He pulled out his sword to fight it off, dismissing the cut over his left eye blinding him. It may have been bigger, but he was smarter and more agile.

Or so he thought.

As the fiend swiped at him, blocking it with his shield, he thrusted his sword at its chest. Another swipe rushed in, and he dodge it only to be met with another one greeting his cheek, almost destroying his right eye. It swooped down, its mouth wide open, but the farmer tumbled to the side and brought his sword down to its neck.

It caught the blade. As if on cue, Sky came and did the same.

It caught his blade as well.

Hyrule, from a distance, shot a sword beam at its head, Warrior, Time, and Wind coming in for a kill while it was a little dazed from the assault. When the beast turned around, tossing Twilight and Sky to the sides, Wind slid under it and sliced the Phantom Sword through its leg, bringing it down. Time and Warrior swiped upward on its chest to its neck, splitting its lower mouth, with Hyrule running to stab its side, being sure that Wind was near first. Then, Twilight and Sky, after the others moved away, thrusted their blades through the head, the Hero of the Sky decapitating it for good measure. The Hero of Time, however, unsure of it can still move even after decapitation, plunged his Biggoron Sword in its back, straight through where its heart should be, and cut downward.

"Sweet Nayru..." Twilight breathed as the beast collapsed.

"What is this thing?" Sky asked, shakily. "It looks...unearthly..."

"Well, of course, it does because it's not," Time said. He rolled his eyes. "Dang, this must be these aliens an old friend was telling me about." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"An alien? What's that?" Wind asked.

"In all honesty...I have no idea," Time sighed, exhausted.

"How do we know there won't be any more?" Hyrule sounded a little squeamish, wiping the blood from his neck. In the distance, they heard faint screaming of females. "OH, COME ON!"

"Dang it...Keep your guard up everybody! Wind, Hyrule, you make sure that the women get into town safely." Warrior commanded.

"But I wanna—"

"No, Wind!" Wind flinched, now turning his attention to the grass below.

Hyrule gazed at Wind's expression. He had nothing to say...He really had nothing that he could say to him. All he did was squeeze his shoulder for reassure which didn't help much.

The five heroes stood in their stances until they heard the familiar whirring sound of one of Wild's other fancy machine slowly getting louder. The guardian, the veteran, and the blacksmith were squawking like crows at a carcass as they rode away from _another_ one of those things. It must've been its ally.

With Wild securing Four tightly in his arm in the front, Legend swung his ice rod and his fire rod at the beast in the back, creating beams of flames and frost to at least slow it down or trap it, but the stupid thing kept dodging them! They all shrilled out of terror from how quickly the thing was running.

The others just looked disappointed.

"Guys! Help!" On cue, Warrior plucked one of his bombs onto his arrows and released it at the monstrosity, barely missing the Master Cycle Zero which swerved from fear, and Wild lost control. Thankfully, he missed them and hit a nearby tree, protecting Four in the process from further injury. Legend landed in a bush, cursing so much that it even made the old man blush.

The bomb managed to slow down the Cycle but not the fiend itself. However, it did destroy its lower body, its thighs no more. Even without its legs, it still stood taller than them. Maybe, it was because they were tiny men to the point where a couple of the Princesses were taller than them, but who knows?

It crawled quickly as Wind and Hyrule scrambled to Legend, Wild, and Four while the others readied themselves to attack. A weird, small gust of wind picked up out of nowhere, throwing the boys off, until they saw Time running up to the beast at full speed shouting a battle cry with the beast screaming as well, but it was cut short. The boys couldn't piece together the events when they watched Time stab the monster repeatedly in its back. They never saw it fall over, but one thing was for sure; it was dead, but that old coot wasn't stopping there. It appeared he wanted to make sure it stayed dead...or...that look in his eye, Twilight and Sky noticed.

"Okay, Time, I think it's dead, now," Warrior called. "I think you got him!" He proceeded to stab it. "Time! It's dea—Time! Time! Old man—Ti—TIME!" Time stopped and stumbled back, a hand on his forehead.

"Ya' got 'im!" called Twilight.

"What happened? I blacked out for a second there," Time exhaled. He saw the monster under his feet. "When did this thing die?"

"That's a very good question," Wild said, walking up with the other until silence fell over them like a blanket for a moment, and then he spoke again. "Can we bomb it for good mea—"

"No," interrupted the farmer.

Warrior walked up to the dead beast and kneeling down to get a better look. "I think we can say the town is safe now..."

"For now, I feel..." Sky looked around, his eye catching the other one he fought. What really caught his attention was one of its severed arms; it had a strange mark on it he couldn't recognize. He couldn't read it properly. He wanted to take it to the others, however he didn't have the stomach to either touch or look at the arm. Four came up, holding his arm, to discover the Skyloftian's finding.

"Hm...Wild, come take a pictograph of this!" the smith called for Sky.

"Of what?" the wild child called.

"Sky found something! We need a pictograph of this." As he said that, his eyes flashed a violet. "We may need it just in case."

They all gaped at the odd art on the arm; a silhouette of a man with two more arms and legs spread out into branches of a tree with leaves dancing above his head. At the bottom read a small message they could not read.

Four traced over the letters and discovered that they were a part of the alphabet of another language they had never seen before. Kneeling close to the arm, the Sheikah Slate practically hovering over it, Wild snapped a pictograph of the mark.

"That's so disturbing..." said Wind. "Do you think it's the works of this weird quick shifting thing?"

"Well...That's a—"

"I doubt that," Warrior interrupted Sky. "It can't be these things doing all that shifting. They look too unintelligent to even handle such a power. Maybe, these creatures were mutants of magic of some sort. They were great fighters like Lynels, but they are as easy to kill as a Bokoblin."

"You're joking, right?" asked Legend. "Have you ever seen something _this ugly!_ "

"Actually, yes! You," Warrior snickered as Legend tackled and quarrled with him.

Time rubbed his face. "Both of you enough. Wind, you may be on to something, but it's a little too soon to call. I'll keep that in mind...if I'll remember it..." He yawned. The sailor huffed in annoyance.

"Same here," Hyrule and Sky also yawned.

"I'll rid these carcasses," volunteered Twilight, including Wild who also shouted to assist him.

The heroes flopped back on the beds in extreme exhaustion. They attempted to fall asleep from the traumatizing events of meeting a monster race they have never encountered before. When they asked the residents of the town if they have ever seen a monster like that before, all of them denied, never encountering that monster race. Hyrule had a feeling since this was his kingdom. A lot of ambushes occurred on the daily, weekly or monthly if they were fortunate, whether he was here or the royal guard. Yet, he neither met nor was ambushed by one of these creatures. He thought back at the brawl between them and whatever that was, and he sunk deeper into the mattress. He...barely did anything. Four praised him for healing him, but he did nothing except get knocked unconscious and stayed out for the remaining of the battle until he woke up to shoot his sword beam.

He felt sick about it. He felt useless. He got up from his bed, looking out at the late morning sunlight leaking through the window, and began his walk in the town in comfortable clothing. He watched the children playing around on the streets with toys and games as other adults walked and talked like nothing had occurred last night until the break of dawn. They bought their food, the jewelry or clothes they wanted, the everyday necessities, everything once again intact as if the ambush never occurred.

Everything seemed peaceful once again. It felt nice, but he'd think they would be more prepared for ambushes like that and warn the guards sooner before they attacked. They just came suddenly! They just appeared from thin air! Yet, how can he judge them for not worrying? All they dream for was peace, but to be careless and not worry about another battle again?

Did they not notice the monsters that attacked the village at all? Dear Farore! It wasn't that hard to notice... _Wait._

Hyrule looked closely at the market stands and stores and the other small buildings. His green and brown eyes studied the detail of the building caught in the crossfire, big or small, whatever he could find with them. They widened in the utmost shock. This wasn't real. This... _couldn't_ be real...None of this should be real. He felt his heart race like he was running from one of those...those things, whatever they were! How was it possible? His mind couldn't comprehend the sight before him. Something like this shouldn't have occurred so quickly. Many were asleep after the attack, yes? Or were they? It was all so confusing. He was sure that he blacked out after he grabbed his companions of the same name.

Warrior studied the building before him. As he recalled, the pharmacy, along with the item shop, the pub, and blacksmith, were the ones that were badly damaged by the small Lynel hoarde, some responsibility being held by the Moblins and Darknuts. The monsters rampaged in those stores, pub, and the blacksmith, probably knowing that the humans would use them in case of injury, to take refuge, or to fight alongside the heroes. To their misfortune, they did attack the protected places, but thankfully, no one was hurt and escaped successfully.

Even so, he imprinted the images of the damage in his mind, perfectly memorizing every detail. The stones walls looked on the verge of collapsing, burying everyone inside alive, the windows shattered from citizens jumping out or monsters breaking in. Shelves fell over, crushing the items and potion bottles, mirrors and precious jewels demolished from the thundering tremors of the outrageous armies. The blacksmith's crafts, years for painstaking work, were snapped into pieces like twigs, leaving the villagers with no protection or power to defend themselves. Upon further inspection of the buildings, from the windows to the small etched designs on the rims, nothing lost its place.

The buildings were untouched.

"Yep...this...shouldn't have been fixed so quickly," said Warrior, his breathing a little hard but went unnoticed.

"But, we watched them get destroyed, everything inside, the people..." Sky gulped down his fright.

"It's impossible..." Four whispered.

Wind tapped Wild's forearm, catching the others' attention. "I asked the people around the town. They said that they didn't see or hear any commotion last night."

"And the deceased?" asked Wild, ill to his stomach.

"They're alive," Wind said. "They're all okay, no injuries or anything."

"But..." Time studied the medicine shop. "This...This doesn't make any sense. We saw it. We saw it get destroyed."

"I'm telling you! This is the works of those quick shifts! Why else would all of things happen?" Wind said. "Wild's Sheikah Slate not working? Those weird creatures that attacked us? The town not crumbling like a cookie in your hand?"

"Now that I think about it..." Warrior squinted. "Everywhere we end up, we end up getting attacked, but our locations are unpredictable. Something is definitely off."

"How is this even possible?" Legend knocked on the stone. "It's...perfectly intact, but it would take forever to rebuild. Yet, this was done within a short amount of time. What's going on?"

"Could it be that entity Time was talking about?" asked Twilight. Even the old man was appalled by his own theory.

"Not the—Guys! There is no entity!" Warrior barked.

"There could be, Warrior," Legend rebutted. "How else do you explain all of this? And, don't give me that bullcrap about the dimensions colliding or whatever!"

"Its shifting is uncoordinated, however the attacks are?" Sky exclaimed. "Now, we're faced with a building that's standing tall in front of us? This doesn't make sense at all!"

"Of course, it doesn't," Time muttered, irritated, as if he was in a moment of sudden realization. "It doesn't matter if we understand it or not. It's obvious, isn't it? I didn't think about it until Wind said something. So, I took the time to think on the situation we're pulled in, and with everything that dwelled in our experiences..." He opened his blind eye. "Someone is trying to kill us."

"What—"

"Think about it, the shifts are a ruse to confuse us, to make us think that they're not planned, when in reality, it was to throw us off guard to become easy targets," Time explained. "The sudden monster attack with those new demons was too much of a coincidence. It felt like...it was left for us...like someone was trying to give us a warning."

"And there go your crazy superstitions..." Legend muttered. "Alright, who's gonna drag him?"

"This isn't a superstition!" Wind shouted, defensively. "Don't you get it? This is all too unusual to be coincidentally! He's right!"

"Does one really have the power to mess with time—"

"That's where that entity comes in," Hyrule said. "Maybe, it wants us to think the way we did before to keep us at bay. It knows what we did, our adventures and hardships, so..."

"It knows how powerful we are but only as individuals," Twilight finished. "If it wanted to kill us, why did it group us altogether?"

"Now, it's just questions upon questions!" Wild groaned. "Goddess..."

"It's puzzling, I admit it," Sky muttered.

 _ **"Is there something wrong?"**_ asked a kind, tender voice. They turned to find the voice's owner, a beautiful youthful round-eared woman in a long white cloak with sleeves, with long dark hair and bright green eyes that shone like emeralds, slim, rectangular glasses framing her lovely features. Her accent was a little thick, maybe thicker than Twilight's. One glance at her and Warrior was already in love; she was a life-sized porcelain doll, skin radiant and clear like the sun, form proportionate, and her smile brighter than the moon.

"Whoa, she's so ho—" Warrior was interrupted by a hard smack in the head by Twilight.

 _ **"Uh...what was that?"**_ asked Wind.

 _ **"Oh, I'm sorry, my accent is a little difficult to understand,"**_ she giggled gently. _**"I couldn't help but notice that you all seemed trouble with something. So, I decided to come and help you."**_

 _ **"Uh, okay?"**_ Hyrule said, skeptically. Time was silent, eye fixated on the woman.

She walked in front of the boys, her posture and stride graceful and slow in the similar fashion of a princess. Her steps were light and delightful. She eyed the building in front of them, studying its features as she pushed her glasses to her face. Then, she hummed knowingly. _**"This is quite odd. Wasn't there a battle that began in the dead of night?"**_

The boys sucked a breath. _**"You...You saw the battle that had taken place?"**_

 _ **"Yes, the one that lasted all night? I watched it happened. In fact, I was one of the many you evacuated from the town,"**_ she recalled.

 _ **"That's, uh..."**_ Warrior eyed her, gaining every detail of her outfit. _**"Kind of hard to believe..."**_

This time, Four kicked him in the back of the knee. "Womanizer."

"No, I'm not! I was just looking at her outfit!" Warrior shouted. "Her wardrobe is peculiar."

 _ **"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be a director, would you?"**_ asked Wild, cocking a focused brow. _**"Like...a person researches...whatever? Flora and fauna, technology, all that stuff?"**_

 _ **"Oh! Why, yes!"**_ she cheered. Wild furrowed his brows, narrowing his eyes at her. _**"I'm a director, but my research isn't too interesting. Anyhow, this was the item shop, correct?"**_ Her eyes fixated on the building once more. Funny how she changed the topic... _**"Yes...this place was demolished. I remember the state exactly when I ran passed it, seeing the Lynels and the Moblins attacking our resourc...but, no. This must be it."**_ She turned to the boys. _**"This may sound as peculiar as my outfit, but...I'll get straight to the point. What you see here, believe me or not, is an example of the bending in reality."**_

 _ **"A bend in reality?"**_ Sky was distraught as well as the others.

 _ **"We all remember the attack, everyone fleeing and their town destroyed, but little one—"**_ The director narrowed her eyes sternly at the young sailor. He shivered under her gaze, feeling something was wrong. _**"From what I heard, you asked people in the town if they recalled the event last night...and the deceased...Well, that's a different story upon itself. It sounds absurd, yes, but how else can you explain this?"**_

 _ **"What caused it though?"**_ Twilight asked. He and Time noticed that the Hero of the Wild was getting a little jumpy in the back. He knew there was something off with that woman's statement. The Hero of the Four Sword watched his companion's expression change to an alarmed one.

 _ **"That's a good question,"**_ she murmured. _**"I have been theorizing on the possibilities of bends in reality, but I have studied different spells and magic that had close relations with that kind of power. However, none seemed to meet the requirements."**_

 _ **"So, this isn't strong illusion magic as I thought of before,"**_ Four said.

 _ **"I'm afraid not,"**_ she said. _**"To produce illusions that only effected a handful of people proves to be very difficult."**_

 _ **"Including creating every person in the ambush?"** _Four snarled.

 _ **"Someone would have to possess a photographic memory,"**_ she answered, focused. _**"It takes a large amount of creativity and muscle memory to understand replicate and rebuild the town from the ground up, but that would take an amount of power from the body to which it cannot handle if you are a beginner. An expert, maybe, but I highly doubt anybody could make an alien. This has to be the work of a higher power. If no one remembers this event, then it must be the work of a bend of reality produced by a god or someone of god-like power."**_

Time narrowed his eyes at her after watching Wild. _**"Ma'am, quick question."**_

She turned to him with a sweet smile. " _ **Yes? What is it, good sir?"**_

Time didn't buy the act one bit. He kept his glare at her while the other Links stood at a good distance from them, one where they could still hear them...and stay away from any Hell Time will unleash on this lady without remorse! _**"Where did you flee from?"**_

 _ **"You mean...my last place of origin before the ambush, correct?"**_ Time nodded, the woman now looking to the sky tapping her chin. _**"Let's see...I was originally in the farmer's market over there."**_ She pointed the "exact spot" she stood before the ambush.

 _ **"The farmer's market...Hm..."**_ Time smirked. _**"Thank you. That's all I need to know."**_

 _ **"Really? That's rather—"**_ The woman pivoted on one foot and grabbed the blade with her bare hand, not even the slightest appalled by the approach or frightened. She didn't flinch when the eldest hero held his sword at her neck. _**"Oh...Is it something I said?"**_

 _ **"In fact, it was,"**_ said Time, venom dripping from his tongue. _**"You claim to be have been present at the farmer's market, and unfortunately, you made not one but two contradictions to your testimony."**_

_**"Did I, now?"** _

_**"I was at the farmer's market, making sure that everyone was safely evacuated—"** _

_**"Of course, but you see, there were multiple people there."** _

_**"But, Wild was present at the entrance,"**_ Time rebutted, his frown unwavering. _**"He remembers most of the faces...and, he would know if he saw you because you stand out the most. Also...you said something about the aliens...when no one said a word about them."**_

It was Warrior and Wind's turn to attack, but the director dodged their slashes with ease and a smile on her face. Sky unsheathed the sword on his back to thrust at her, but she just moved to the side, ducking from Twilight's and Legend's swings. To their surprise, when she dodged, she somehow made room for a counter. They slashed at her, shot arrows at her, not even leaving a scratch on this woman, but she was as quick as a Sheikah master, slipping around the Links unnoticed as if she was predicting every move. It was almost like she was a goddess herself. Every jab, swing, roundhouse kick, all of the above, held a different level of strength, and her movements were so precise that not even the swiftest on reflexes, which was Sky, couldn't keep up with her.

When Wind attacked, she moved around like she were an illusion. Her expression was deadpanned, unamused of his tricks. "I believe he won't mind if I kill one. This broken child isn't worth the trouble..."

She whacked the side of her hand in the back of the sailor's neck, kicking the back of his knees to make him fall. Warrior came with a roundhouse kick from behind, but the woman ducked and as he raised his sword, she held the youngster by his neck to use as a human shield. He stopped at the nick of time. However, she bashed Wind's head against his, throwing an uppercut on his jaw, and when he was hunched over, she slammed her leg against his neck. She threw the Hero of the Winds down without remorse, more like in hopes to kill him when she raised her heeled shoe above his neck, but Twilight didn't allow that to take place when he lunged at her, sliding to the slide when she threw a punch, grabbing her cloak to yank it with the tip of his sword sharp and ready. She flipped over off her heel, the sleeved cloak flying off, as she landed lightly and appeared behind the humble swordsman, swiping at his ankles, but he pushed off his feet onto his hands and landed, but she just appeared in front of him to elbow his stomach hard enough to violently push the acid in his stomach out of his throat. Then, she punched the side of his head, rendering him unconscious.

Finding his companion in that state, the captain tumbled behind her and jabbed at her leg to at least slow her down, but somehow with the strength of an ox, this woman wrapped her arms around his torso from behind and folded backwards making Warrior hit his head on the ground. She then dropped him as she flipped without struggle.

Wild, with his Sheikah Slate working for a slight moment, used the Stasis Rune to slow the woman down for moment to lay a hit for Hyrule, but immediately a second after the yellow chains of time locked her in place, she broke free and swiftly elbowed him in his stomach, sending him into Wild. She lunged at the boys, grabbing them by the collars and racing towards Wind and Warrior, jumping high in the air, and slamming them down onto the two. _**"Dear Death...you all are so disgusting, and you call yourselves heroes? I know a hero younger than you who can fight better than all of you combined."**_ She giggled, but the giggle sent shivers down their spines.

Behind her was Sky and Legend, ready to stab her in the back, but paused at the sudden glance she gave them. The boys froze like a Redead had shrieked in the distance, giving the Hero of Time an opening. She also glanced at him with that same look, one of great hysteria and mania, as she spun on her hands, her legs now swinging in a circle, and her heels broke the two's ribs. Suddenly, a wave of bombs detonated around her, causing Time to step back. They got her this time; Wild, while the rest were distracted, planted bombs around the area before he used the Stasis Rune. That must have been a signal. Then, Four came up, determination and fury in his eyes.

_It was!_

Before she laid another powerful hit on him, making sure the coast was clear as she grabbed the Phantom Sword and struck downward, he split into four, each in a different color tunic and shade of blonde. The Fours were quite proficient, the one in violet calling out formations and strategies and the ability to trick the director. The one in blue was efficient as well, yet his movements were powerful and charging! The Red Four always distracted her at the right moment for the Green to plow through. They were a well oiled machine. With the Blue pivoting from a slash and smashing his hammer against her back and the Red burning her face with Legend's Fire Rod, the Green and Violet rammed their swords into her face, pulling upward...

The body disappeared into thin air.

Then, a wave of Wild's bombs detonated on them, causing Four to come back together as a whole. Time covered his face from smoke, waving it away from his face to clear his vision when the sounds of destruction ceased. There laid Four unconscious on the ground with the rest of them.

Now, only she and Time stood tall. Once she attacked him...his heart began to race. Every slash, every move, every block!

He saw this before...he remembered it vividly. She mimicked his every step. Each step of this dance of death was all too similar to be coincidental. She knew. _**"What is it, Hero! Oh? Are you scared? Terrified? You remember something in your past?"**_

 _ **"Shut up, witch!"**_ Time slashed horizontally to cut her in half, to finally silence her! She rolled into a tumble, but the shield on his back saved his life as he spun around to perform his spin attack. When he stabbed at her, she landed on the edge Biggoron Sword, her balance perfect and unwavering as if she were a perfectly weighed scale.

 _ **"Frightening to relive your past, isn't it, Hero of Time?"**_ Her smile widened like that of a cursed doll sitting in a corner, untouched but sanitized. Her beautiful eyes now deprived of human emotion. _**"It's almost if you are reliving the past. How scary the past can be. That's too bad, however. You can't change it no matter what, living with it for the rest of your life and walking down a path of regret and terror. The helpless who begged for your help and were abandoned and killed by hoardes of blood thirsty monsters, the innocent lives that spilled their blood for you, the Sages that became nothing but stupid spirits to aid you to only fail in the end—"**_

 _ **"Fail?"**_ Time thought he succeeded. He thought that he defeated Ganondorf once and for all! He was gone, rotting in his prison in the Sacred Realm!

Oh, but the amount of vulnerability that he showed was enough for her. _**"You don't know...what you did?"** _Her giggle gradually grew into what sounded like a hearty laugh, but the tone was darker...maliciously venomous that matched her snake eyes. _**"You really don't know what you've done? You think you saved everyone? That you stopped the evil with that useless sword you hate so much? You only made it worse on your descendants!"**_

_**"What do you—What are you talking about—"** _

_**"Oh? You really wish to know?"**_ Whatever formed from her lips was cold, uncaring. He knew she was a little strange from the very start, but he never expected her to be so maniacally, almost killing these boys without mercy. However, he also noticed that she stirred away from killing them on her own. _**"Oh...sweet, sweet Link. An innocent boy from a hidden village deep within the forest. You really should've kept an eye out on your sons' stories. Oh, wait! You already lost one!"**_ She laughed, throwing her head back. _**"You believed that you stopped a calamity when you actually caused one by your own hands, but you continue to blame a 'villain' for your misconduct when in the most brutal reality...you split the timeline of your own blood."**_

Time nearly dropped his sword. He...split the timelines? But how! It didn't make sense! He stopped Ganondorf after his seven year slumber in the Sacred Realm and returned back to his childhood to regain it! Now, he was living a simple life with his beloved wife, Malon! How!

_**"But...no, I—"** _

_**"Oh, don't try to sweeten your side of the story!"**_ she snapped, eyes now wild with rage and disgust. She was suddenly in his face in the blink of an eye. _**"You caused your descendants to suffer, a useless traveler had a bounty over his head, a punk and a bumpkin lost the loves of their lives, a weak child became traumatized carrying the weight of your burden, a soldier faced the collision of the timelines finally merging, and a royal guard failed and slept for a hundred years, not knowing his identity because you failed to seal the evil! Of course, your 'Goddess' and that sword decided to choose a stupid child instead of a hero...but, there are no real heroes...are there now? The term 'hero' is nothing but a title bestowed those the people think are worthy! Nothing disgusts me more than the broken choosing the broken to make matters worse."**_ Her smile became crooked from the failed attempt to hide her sadistic and euphoric hysteria. _**"But...that's okay, right? Because...what's broken...can be fixed. Every piece...no matter how...shattered...it is...can be restored to its former glory...back to perfection, the way we were before we were cursed by the evil fruit thanks to those idiot humans in the beginning of life! We can return to being—**_ _ **"**_

She suddenly stopped, her smile normal...somewhat...but, her eyes were still wild. Something replaced the hysteria, something...even more evil than the King of Thieves, than the pale monster he fought as a child and as an adult, than his shadow, than the moon and the monster that terrorize that moon's city. She felt it...the pain. She knew her calf was bleeding. She was hit.

That was what her eyes held: rage.

It was rage for getting distracted and getting shot at without notice.

She slowly turned, eyes held in place until they landed on Twilight with a bow in hand.

The ranch hand was hyperventilating slightly from what appeared to be panic running on adrenaline as he ran up to slice the woman. Before he could even graze her, the ground exploded and rumbled which was odd since there were no more of Wild's bombs or any of their bombs.

The woman smiled sweetly at the sky. "Oh, good, you were ready, weren't you?"

Time glanced at the sky and held his breath; a flurry of longer bombs made out of metal falling at a rapid speed as well as round-eared humans and more of those unearthly monsters, even more bloodthirsty than ever. When one of those longer bombs hit the ground near Twilight and Time, Time took a good minute to memorize the strange symbol on it before it detonated, though he couldn't read the symbols under the sharp, horizontal L-shaped mark, sending them flying and knocking the wind out of them. They both covered their heads from the flying debris while the round-eared humans and demons kill or kidnapped innocent people. Their sensitive ears were ringing at a high pitch, their eyes burning from the light. Monsters that had that unearthly charm to them held advanced crossbows that shot lethal beams of light that pulverized the citizens. Time, using what remaining strength to carry Twilight over his shoulder, paced to the others as quickly as possible to get them up. They couldn't save the citizens; chaos spread too quickly with the long bombs and the monsters.

However, escaping was no longer an option. The smoke and other odors began to obliterate the fresh air, suffocating everyone caught in its prison, but was it impossible?

"Boys, go find survivors and lead them out before they suffocate!" Time's voice boomed over the explosions even with his hand covering his mouth to block some smoke. "We can't defeat these monsters, and I think the round-eared humans are an addition to the cause!"

Hyrule watched the town burn into an apocalyptic wasteland, a lovely town that was attacked all night by tangible illusions. He couldn't believe his eyes. His home...it was—

"Hyrule!" He heard Legend's voice calling to him. He was still trapped in the sight of devastation until he felt a hand clamp down on his wrist, yanking him away.

"No!" shouted Wild. "We're not leaving them!"

"Wild, no!" Twilight grabbed his collar, wiping the stinging tears from his eyes. "We can't—"

"No! I won't fail again!" Wild wrenched out of his grip and charged at the army with Wind on his tail. Twilight ran after them.

"Wind! What are you doing!" Warrior called.

"I'm gonna help! A hero has to save people! We can't stand here and do nothing!" the young sailor shouted back.

Warrior watched him run with Wild, his breathing becoming uneven and rapsy without the assistance from the smoke and odd odors. He dropped to his knees, clutching his shirt. The images were returning...all running past him in flashes of light. He couldn't hear his companions calling him. He was imprisoned by the sounds of familiar scenes and guilt that laid over him, wrapping tightly around him to choke him. He heard the cries flooding in his brain, he saw the havoc reign upon him, his friends...No! He stood to run after Wind. Without a single thought, the other Links ran after him to stop him and grab the others to run. The fumes of the bombs were too strong. They were...very, very strong.

Most of it was a blur. Time vaguely remembered fighting back the numerous amount of round-eared humans with Sky by his side and shouting his name when he stumbled back. He didn't know where the others went. He didn't see Twilight, Wild, or Wind returned, including Warriors. Hyrule stayed by the two while Legend went off. Then...he was on the ground, all of them called for. He couldn't breathe; something filled his lung, pushing the air out. He tried to push himself off the ground but found that he had no strength left somehow, having a dreadful migraine to boot...and so...this was how his story ends, the Goddess finally rendering him useless. He always hated her, stealing his childhood, forcing him to do her dirty work that would only be locked away in the castle walls. Now, he was going to lose these boys...they still had lives to live...but...what lives if he caused their demise? Did he really started this all because he failed to seal away the evil? How could he?

She was right...he was no hero...

_The Goddess chose a child to watch him ultimately fail..._

Now, he wanted his pain to end, the nightmares to end, everything just to end! If the Goddess wanted to kill him, she had the chance! She can do it now!

His only prayer...was for these boys to make it out alive at least. They didn't deserve this. They never did. This...was all his fault.

_It has to be._

The last thing he saw was the woman giving them a cursed smile and a young masked girl by her side while she stroked the top of her head before his world turned white. The last thing he heard was an explosion.

~☆~

  
"That's stupid."

"Why do you always fight me?"

"Because you're an astrophysicist, and you believe in a multiverse? Please, that's in comic books, Jane."

Jane stared at her coworker in disbelief and a little anger. She knew that this was real according the recent levels of unknown and mighty activity. It was a month ago that they discovered unusual astronomical transitions within the atmosphere, the levels of power out of whack and strange occurrences in social behavior of the citizens. She studied with multiple therapists, interviewing their clients as they spout out nonsense about aliens, portals, some new religion they are affiliated with, everything that sounded like ideas for a sci-fi horror film. She gathered a team of astrophysicists to help collect data from around the states, but that was impossible since they didn't have the equipment to do so, and the equipment they did have would malfunction or explode into a million pieces. These materials cost money, and she didn't have the time to fix or replace them.

"Darcy, we both know that this is real!" Jane exclaimed, standing up from the table. "We saw an event occur just like this years ago, and you call this bullcrap? Remember when the entire state of California reported an earthquake, but there was no recorded seismic activity?"

"Well, that's because your so-called boyfriend left you for good," said Darcy, casually sipping her coffee. "Plus, Cali isn't the brightest state, but I mean, neither is any other state, but we don't talk about that. We pretend Americans are smart."

"This isn't about him and our crumbling government! This is about the phenomenon that's been occurring for the past month now!" Jane slumped back down in her chair. "And I swear, we're getting nowhere with this."

"We discovered this recently so of course, we don't have all the research—"

"But, this should be easy! For the both of us!" Jane pulled her hair, almost tearing it out. "I know this stuff because of the Nine Realms! How is this difficult!" She hit her head on the table. "I don't know what's causing this. It looks like Earth's form is shifting for some reason, like it's being ripped apart and stitching itself back together in multiple locations. It also seems that the population is growing massively recently, and all kinds of people disappearing. The number of missing people have increased but so have the international population for unknown reasons. Our world is going out of whack—"

"I made you a Tinder account." Darcy slid her phone to her, breaking the amount of stupidity she was discussing. "Would you say that you like long walks on the beach?"

"You serious?"

An alarm rang, the red colors flashing around the small lab, making them jump out of their chairs.

"What the..." They raced to the monitors, watching the sensor go haywire. On the screen, the sensor located some sort of black hole forming on the outskirts of a city in the Eastern European country of Sokovia but malfunctioned, sparking even, due to the amount of energy it collected in a rapid pace. It was hot to the touch, making Jane jerk back her hand, and other sensors followed suit. The weather outside began to change from sunny to dark clouds swirling in the sky and lightning crackling, the wind blowing roughly to where it sounded it was trying to pick up their office building with all of its might and pounding its fists against the windows until the barriers finally shattered. The two women slid under the table to protect themselves, their heads covered and held down, both quivering from the sudden explosions, the howling wind, and the breaking of glass. Everything was getting knocked over, all of Jane's research finally crumbling everyone surrounding her that Odin forsaken day! Tears streamed down from the bridge of her nose.

After a minute or two, the storm died down. Darcy pulled her friend out from under the table, eyeing the mess it made. "Wow, it really looks like a massive potato threw around this room."

"Now's not the time for jokes," said Jane, brushing off her clothes and examining the mess. "Great..."

Darcy rolled her eyes slowly to her. "So...we're gonna swipe left or swipe right?"

A knock came at the door, silencing the argument about to blow up. "Out." Jane opened the door, immediately hitching her breath from the familiar former agent standing before her, of shiny chocolate skin dressed in the darkness of night, blinded on the left side of his face. Standing next to him must have been his assistant, but the other on the other side she recalled meeting him before. Agent Coulson, she remembered. He was the one who tried to confiscate her research in 2011, leading a team of agents and researchers to cover up anything suspicious that they believed she will expose to the public when...her ex-boyfriend was banished to Earth.

"Jane Foster?" he inquired, his voice intimidating and low. The cold stare he gave her froze her in place. She really, really wanted to slam the door in his face and book it out with what research she had.

"Uh..." Of course, she was hesitant! There was a sniper looking dude at her door! Her mind commanded a "no". "Yes?" _Nice job, Jane._

The man stood taller, looking a little taller than he was when hunched over a bit. His expression held intense seriousness that not even Darcy's stupid jokes about her love life would crack him. To be honest, she was never funny anyway.

"We need to talk," he said, looking at Agent Coulson. "We need your help."


End file.
